Choosing the right school for your child

I don't have a clue where my child is going to elementary school in less than two months. Not even which county he will be in: Orange or Seminole.

In a week, I expect to figure this out.

The second half of this past school year was difficult for our family but mostly for our son. We changed school districts from Orange County to Seminole County in January, and his new school didn't work out.

I won't get into specifics or name the school, but I will say that his Specific Learning Disability needs were not met, and we are not happy about it.

The cool part in all this chaos, because there has to be something good in this tremendous time of stress, is thatI get to choose where my son will go to school. It's also your choice, parents, if you have an eligible child on an Individual Education Plan or 504 Accommodation Plan. IEPs and 504s explained here

According to Florida law, parents like us can go with a public or private school without cost (depending on the scholarship) if they're a scholarship recipient.

My son qualified, so that's what we are doing.

As his current elementary school was ending, I knew one thing: He was not going back.

I reviewed my rights as a parent of a child with disabilities and filed an intent form for a McKay Scholarship. We received that scholarship not long after.

Created in 1999, the McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program provides scholarships for eligible students with disabilities to attend an eligible public or private school of their choice, according to Florida Department of Education's McKay page.

We filed so that our son could change school districts and return to his former public elementary school in Orange County. You would think that this might be simple, but changing districts is tricky business. One way to accomplish this with a child on an IEP or 504 plan is to use the McKay Scholarship.

I don't plan to send him to a private school, but who knows at this point. I am researching all of our options.

What I do know is that I am not only his mom but his advocate as well, and it's my job to find him a school that meets his needs next year as well as every single year he is in school. My husband also is part of the process, of course, but I am the shark when it comes to academics.

If we don't get our request approved then we will find another school as good or possibly even better than our school of choice.

You can count on that.

I will keep you all posted. I hope to get what we are asking for, which would mean a return to the place that teachers best understood my son and knew how to best help him thrive, grow and learn with specific learning disabilities.

Wish us luck!

Meanwhile, if you have used the McKay Scholarship program let me know @momsatwork on Twitter, come to our Facebook page and like us (please and thank you) at www.facebook.com/osmomsatwork and comment or leave your comments below.

And for those of you who might be interested in the program here are some links to help you out.